Ties That Bind
by writer-in-newyork
Summary: Kind of spoiler-ish for 15x11 but not completely. Some Meredith/Derek. Family bonding. Definite Mer/Der if this becomes a multiple chapter. Meredith and Thatcher talk when he is admitted to Grey Sloan Memorial. Not following 15x11, just Thatcher's part. No arguing or hypocrisy like the episode held.
1. Chapter 1

Meredith stood at the O.R scheduling board staring at the black ink on white board. Her hands were in her lab coat pockets, and her hair was pulled back into a ponytail. She does not notice anyone walking by, or the hand that is laying gently on her left shoulder. However, she feels a second hand squeezing her right shoulder. When she down, she recognizes the familiar hands; Derek is standing behind her, beginning to softy knead her shoulders.

"You know, this much stress isn't good for you, Mer," Derek said in a soft tone. Meredith turned around and looked her husband in the face.

She let out a soft sigh before she spoke. "What am I supposed to do, Derek? He's _here_ and everybody is expecting me to drop everything and help. I can't, I have my job to do, _and_ I have Zola to take care of. We're just getting back to normal after everything that happened—"

Derek cut her off with a soft kiss on her lips. "Meredith, I know you have always had problems with him, but you are going to feel terrible if something happens to him and you didn't even talk to him before surgery. We are going to be fine, Zo is good in day care. Meredith, you're all that he has left."

"He blamed me for Susan's death," Meredith argued.

Derek shook his head, "And he told you he regrets it. He made amends with you and Lexie, _and_ you gave him part of your liver. Thatcher may have been an absent father, but he lit up when he was around Zola at Lexie's funeral. Molly doesn't even live in the United States anymore. Go make amends with him, Meredith. Don't you want to set a good example for Zola?" Meredith looked up at Derek and scowled at the soft smile on his face.

"I want to punch you in the face right now, Derek Shepherd. Don't go thinking I'm giving him any body parts this time," Meredith got the last word in before she turned on her foot and stormed off towards Thatcher's hospital room.

Derek watched her retreating form and gave a small smile at his wife before pulling out his phone to check the time. Noticing that if he hurried up and spoke to Webber about getting Meredith to speak to Thatcher, then he would still have time to spend with Zola during lunch.

Meredith stood outside Thatcher's room, looking for the courage to enter the room. He looked so small in the hospital bed—definitely looking worse than he did at Lexie's funeral. If she was to be honest, she was glad, and proud, that he stuck to sobriety during one of the most difficult times in his life. She knew it had to be hard because there was plenty of times she wanted to turn to a tequila bottle in the aftermath of the plane crash. With a deep breath, Meredith took a step forward and opened the door.

Hearing someone walk into the room, Thatcher looked over at the door and smiled. "Meredith!" For reasons Meredith couldn't understand, her father's eyes lit up at seeing his oldest daughter in front of him. Shaking the thought away, she sat in the seat next to Thatcher's bed.

"Hi. Um…I hope you don't mind the company. Someone made me realize that I didn't want you to be alone for this. So, I am going to be right here, and we can…talk I guess," Meredith rambled as her nerves began to kick in.

Thatcher grabbed Meredith's hand and held onto it. "It is more than okay. I would really like the company." There was silence for a moment before he looked at her again. "How are you, and Derek…and Zola?"

Meredith smiled when her daughter's name was brought up. "Derek and I are getting by, we're just starting to sort of recover from what happened. And Zola…I never thought it was possible for one person to bring me so much happiness. She adores the ladybug you got her, she walks around the house with it in her hand, takes it to bed with her."

Seeing the way his oldest daughter lit up when she talked about Zola made Thatcher smile as well, thinking back to the time Meredith was that small. "You had a bear that you used to do the same things with. You would sit on the floor or the couch and have it curled up under your arms."

The two were quiet again, before Meredith spoke up. "It's probably not the best time to say this, but I just wanted to thank you. For giving me a sister. I know I wasn't the nicest person to Lexie when I first met her, and that girl was determined to have some type of relationship with me. I think it really started when her and all the other interns started doing surgery on each other. I don't know what came over me but when I found out about it, I just went into some…protection mode, like I was supposed to defend her and safe her from what was happening."

"I wanted to ask you, but it didn't seem right at the time considering it was her funeral. Was she alone…in the woods? I've wanted to know, but I've been afraid to ask."

With tears in her eyes, Meredith held his hand a little tighter. "I sat with her the whole time. Mark and my friends went to try and find Derek in the woods because I refused to leave her side. I held her hand and we talked. Nothing serious, just small talk, to ignore what was happening. She told me she loved me, that she wanted me to tell you the same thing—which I did—and she asked me to remind Zola of who her Aunt Lexie was. So, no, she wasn't alone." Both Meredith and Thatcher had tears streaming down their faces.

"Thank you, Meredith. For being her big sister and for being with her. You two may not have known each other very long, but she was much closer with you than she ever was with Molly. I am glad that she had you there." Meredith nodded her head at her father's words, her throat too closed up to say anything. After a few moments passed and her throat opened again, Meredith spoke up.

"Don't tell Derek this, but if we ever have another daughter, I'm naming her after Lexie and there's no changing my mind about it."

"I think she would like that very much," Thatcher said. Before anything else could be said, there was a knock at the door. When it opened, Derek stood in the doorway with Zola in his arms.

"Hi, Lovebug! Mama has missed you so much today," Meredith said as she got up to grab Zola and kiss her cheeks. Derek gave a small look of concern when he saw the tear tracks on his wife's face, but it went away when Meredith gave him a reassuring smile.

"I though I'd bring her by for a quick visit before lunch was over," Derek explained as he watched Meredith take Zola over to the chair she was once sitting in.

Meredith has Zola sitting on her lap, the child's back against her chest. Holding Zola's hand, Meredith pointed at Thatcher. "Zo, who's this? Do you remember your grandpa?" It was a small peace offering, all three adults in the room knew that. Zola smiled at the man in the bed and began squirming to try and get to him. "No, Zo. You can't go up there, Lovebug," Meredith said to Zola. She saw her daughter's lips moving and knew what her daughter was trying to do. "Want to give grandpa a kiss before you go?" She stood up and allowed Zola to lean in toward Thatcher and the child gave him a small kiss on the cheek.

Derek watched his wife in awe. He did not expect this to be the outcome of his encouragement, but he was welcoming the addition of Thatcher in their lives. Meredith began to bring Zola back over to him. Derek grab Zola and Meredith gave her one last kiss on the cheek.

"Mama will be home as soon as she can, Zozo. And you can come see Grandpa again tomorrow," Meredith told her daughter as she rubbed her back softly. Derek nodded and began his walk down to daycare.

Sitting back in the chair, Meredith had a small smile on her face as Thatcher looked at her. "She's adorable, Meredith."

"Thanks. She is definitely worth all of the hassle Derek and I have been through."

At that moment, Doctor Bailey came through the door. Derek had told her Meredith was in there with Thatcher, but the shorter doctor did believe Derek completely, and the small part of her that did believe him was not expecting to see the two getting along. No, Miranda Bailey was shocked to not enter as hostile environment. "Okay, Mister Grey. Time to get you down to surgery."

Miranda slightly looked up from the chart, but not enough to be noticed, to witness father and daughter look at each other. Meredith stood up and squeezed his shoulder. "I'm going to walk down with you, and then I will be right here when you're back and awake."

They rolled the bed towards the operating room, stopping just before they entered. Meredith nodded at Bailey before looking at Thatcher. In an uncharacteristic move, Meredith hugged her father and kissed his cheek before looking at him. "Do not pull anything funny in there. You'll see me later, and I'll have Derek bring Zola by again. Doctor Bailey, please take good care of him," Meredith said with a small smile. By this point, that saying had become a ritual between Bailey, her interns and Derek—namely Derek who refused to leave her side when she donated her liver to Thatcher.

 **End? Or multi-chapter?**

 **Sorry for the delayed postings for Blindsided. I am currently in my last semester of college, so I am following a schedule I have set up for myself. I am hoping to get some writing done on the weekends.**

 **Anyhow, I have not really been watching Grey's, but I saw the most recent episode and WOW, never have I been so annoyed with Meredith! I promise that I will start on Blindsided updates ASAP (and I am also working on another story that begins in season 1)**


	2. Chapter 2

**I'** **ve been getting back into the groove of things, and would like to thank everyone on the reviews from multiple stories this past week. I do not really watch grey's as much as I used to, but I have watched the two latest episodes (15x11 sparked the idea for this story) and WOW are they just going to ignore that they're recycling storylines? Along with the leaving of multiple characters, I stopped watching because once I saw ER, I noticed that Grey's copied a lot of their plot lines and executed them poorly.**

 **That said, I am still working on chapters for my other stories—most of my focus is towards my first fic Blindsided, followed by When You're Gone, and Ties That Bind more than any others. Through the operating room's door, Bailey helped steer Thatcher's gurney to the table. She looked down at him and smiled. "I am very good at my job, but I really need you to not pull anything funny on me. Your daughter has done enough of that for both of you. I her to be happy, and whether she'll admit it or not, she loves you and doesn't want you going anywhere. Do you understand me, Mister Grey?"**

Thatcher smiled at Miranda before nodded. "Fierce and protective, just like Lexie told me. I'm staying here for Meredith, so let's get this transplant going." Miranda nodded and the anesthesiologist began putting Thatcher under. Bailey left to go scrub in while the process was being done. As she scrubbed in, Bailey sent prayers out that Thatcher did not die on her table.

* * *

Meredith sat in the waiting room for news on her father. She played with her thumbs as she made a promise to herself that she was going to be a real daughter to Thatcher, and allow him to be a grandfather to Zola and any other future Shepherd children. But, she had one of those feelings again, the feeling that took her back to the day she almost became pink mist. So lost in her thoughts, she didn't realize that someone sat down next to her until they nudged her. Looking up, she saw Cristina.

"Are you really going to do this, Mer? After everything he's put you through?"

Meredith nodded. "Yes, I am. I'm doing it for me, for Thatcher, for Zola, and for Lexie. I know this is something Lexie would have loved, so, yes, Cristina, I am going to try and keep my father in my life."

Her person nodded her head. "Alright then, I'll be sure to kick your ass if you start bitching about him." Cristina smiled when she saw Meredith give her a small smirk. Meredith turned in her seat, no longer sitting leaning forward.

"You should have seen him and Zola. She's only met him one other time and she was completely fine around him as if Thatcher has been in her everyday life. And he smiled when he saw her and did his best to interact with her considering his IV and everything. It was nice to see her with another one of her family members—that is mine and Derek's blood relatives."

Cristina pulled a face, similar to what she did whenever she handed Zola to her with a full diaper. "You're turning into sappy, happy married, Mommy Meredith again," she said jokingly. "Seriously Mer, if this is what you want, I'm behind you, and I'll make sure you stick to your word."

"Thanks, Cristina."

* * *

Bailey was just attaching the renal artery of the donor kidney to the external iliac artery when the monitors began to go off. She froze in place, looking around, before ordering a nurse to go get Webber. The heart monitor began to flatline, so she ordered her resident to begin chest compressions.

"You call those compressions?" Miranda barked at the resident before gently handing the instruments to another resident, then took over the compressions. When she saw Webber walk through the door, she spoke to him, "we need cardio. NOW. Page Yang." He personally paged Cristina as he listened to Bailey talk. "Do you dare do this, Grey. I swear this family is out to give me gray hair. You told me you weren't going anywhere, and that's what you're gonna do. I am not letting you die because then I will have Meredith Grey on my ass about you dying on my table."

By the end of her speech, Richard had taken over the compressions. They continued on with compressions and shocking Thatcher until Cristina arrived two minutes later, out of breath.

* * *

"So, what's going to happen when he comes out of surgery. You know, home care wise?" Cristina asked Meredith.

Meredith shrugged. "I'll be here when he's out of surgery, and then Derek and I will probably take him to stay with us and I'll take a family—" she was cut off by Cristina's pager. Her person looked down, and her eyes grew wide. Cristina jumped up ready to run. "What?" Meredith asked at the unusual behavior.

Cristina shook her head. "Mer, I have to go. I have to go like right freaking now. Stay here, and do not move from that spot," she warned as she began to run to the OR. Running down the halls, she made it to the OR in two minutes and pushed the doors open. "What the Hell is going on?"

"Renal artery attached, heart monitor went off. Lost his pulse. We've been doing compressions and shocks for about three minutes," Bailey replied.

Cristina sighed, "Crack his chest open right now. I'm going to scrub in. Get ready for CABG and do NOT inform Meredith of this. We are not letting him die, so there is no reason for her to worry about it."

* * *

As Cristina ran off, Meredith sat there confused. She had a feeling it had to do with Thatcher, but she knew she wouldn't even make it to the OR because she knew Bailey had people set up to prevent her from getting there. She turned her head and saw Derek walking towards her.

"What are you doing here? Where's Zola?"

Derek sat next to her, putting his arm around her shoulders as she leaned into him. "Torres offered to take her for the night and bring her to daycare tomorrow. So any news so far?" He felt Meredith shake her head and became confused because by this point in a surgery they would have come out to inform family what was going on so far.

Meredith knew that too. And the feeling in her stomach had gotten more intense since Cristina had gotten that page. "I think something happened in there. I have that feeling, you know the one that I had when I almost became pink mist, and the ferry boat accident? And Cristina was sitting here talking to me and her pager goes off. Next thing I know she's flying up and running, telling me not to move a muscle. Something had to of happened. But why wouldn't they come out and tell me." She was saying this more to herself than Derek as she tried to fit all the pieces together.

"Hey, he's got Bailey doing the procedure. She's one of the best general surgeons in the hospital."

"And he might also have Cristina in there doing a different procedure."

Derek sighed as he squeezed his wife's shoulders. "Meredith, even if—and that's a big if—he does, she's the best cardio surgeon around here. Why don't you try getting out of that dark and twisty place and try to sleep a little. You've been up for over twenty-four hours." To his surprise, Meredith nodded, and before long, she was sleeping.

* * *

Cristina and Bailey walked into the scrub room, pulling their scrub caps off as they began to scrub out from the surgery. Bailey sighed and clenched the rim of the sink. Cristina stopped what she was doing and focused on her mentor.

"Doctor Bailey?"

"I just need a minute, Yang. Just a minute before I go out there," Bailey replied, taking deep breaths to calm herself.

Cristina nodded and waited for Bailey to begin scrubbing, to be sure her mentor was okay to continue on. "She won't hate us, you know."

Bailey nodded, "I know. But still, it was a lot. And yes, she is a doctor, so she will understand what we did, but right now, she is family so we have to explain it to get it through her head."

When both women were finished scrubbing out, they began the walk to the waiting room—side by side, a united front. They both saw Meredith sitting and talking with Derek, something they let out a sigh of relief to before they continued making their way over to them.

Hearing footsteps coming toward them, Meredith looked up and saw the way Bailey and Cristina were walking towards her. Her eyes began to fill up with tears, now feeling like she did when Derek was shot and she thought he died on the table.

Bailey had wanted to speak first, to go in order of the surgery, and to cushion the blow that was about to come. "I completed the transplant. We closed up. There were some unforeseen complications. During the transplant, when the renal artery was getting connected to the external iliac artery, your father went into cardiac arrest. He eventually had no pulse," she spoke softly and saw Meredith's eyes grow wide, her face one of shock. "Yang came in and had us crack his chest open…"

Derek put a reassuring hand on Meredith's shoulder, having complete faith in the two surgeons in front of him. Cristina continued before Meredith or Derek cut in. "I performed a CABG on him to retire the blood flow that was lost. It was touch and go for a while, but we got through it. Right now he is being monitored in the CICU. We'll want to run more tests on him when he wakes up, but right now, it seems like he's going to be just fine."

"Do you plan on doing a nuero exam?"

Bailey rolled her eyes, though her expression was still soft. "Yes, Shepherd. We are going to run everything we need to in order to make sure these Greys stop scaring the hell out of us."

It all seemed to click for Meredith when Bailey spoke. "He's okay. Not dead in the morgue?" Bailey shook her head and became shocked when she had her former intern lunge at her and hug her. "Thank you. Can I go see him?"

Bailey, shocked over what just happened nodded her head. "5813. We'll be up for a post-op check later," as she spoke, Meredith began leading Derek away and Miranda looked at Cristina.

"She's happy-married, mommy Mer. She's all gooey inside and she hugs now."

 **Is my medical knowledge right? Probably not, but I did my best. When You're Gone and Blindsided will have at least one new chapter up tomorrow/Sunday.**


End file.
